Liverpool’s Origi and City’s Lopes help Lille leapfrog Bordeaux to top of Ligue 1

The Liverpool loanee Divock Origi struck a goal and City loanee Marcos Lopes netted the other for Lille in a 2-0 win over Nantes on Sunday to put them top of Ligue 1, with Bordeaux losing to Guingamp.

Lille forward Divock Origi, left, dribbles by Nantes defender Olivier Veigneau during Lille's victory in Ligue 1 on Sunday. Francois Lo Presti / AFP / September 14, 2014

Bordeaux suffered their first defeat of the new Ligue 1 season at Guingamp on Sunday to lose top spot in the table to Lille, who beat Nantes earlier in the day.

First-half goals from Moustapha Diallo and Christophe Mandanne, the latter from a penalty, condemned Willy Sagnol’s Bordeaux to a 2-1 defeat, with a late Cheick Diabate strike proving to be a mere consolation for the visitors in Brittany.

Lille had gone clear at the summit thanks to a 2-0 victory against Nantes in the far north, with Divock Origi scoring one goal and then setting up another for Portuguese youngster Marcos Lopes, while Marseille won 3-1 at bottom side Evian to go second.

Rene Girard’s Lille side, who will face the Russians of FC Krasnodar in the Europa League on Thursday, are a point ahead of Marseille, Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne, with champions Paris Saint-Germain a further point adrift in fourth.

Diallo headed home a free-kick from on-loan Newcastle United midfielder Sylvain Marveaux to put Guingamp ahead after 26 minutes, and Mandanne netted from the spot eight minutes later after Gregory Sertic had brought down Jeremy Pied inside the box.

French Cup holders Guingamp, who go to Fiorentina in the Europa League on Thursday, then held on after giant Malian Diabate had reduced the arrears in the 83rd minute, sweeping home first-time from a Thomas Toure cutback.

“In the first half the players’ heads were not in it,” admitted Bordeaux coach Sagnol, who had been widely praised after his team’s fine start to the campaign.

“The return to action after the international break was difficult. I hope this will serve as a lesson for everyone that nothing will be easy this season, that if we want to achieve anything we will need to work, work and work all the time.

“Losing the status of leaders could be a good thing for us. It was maybe getting a bit difficult to deal with in recent weeks.”

Lille continued their unbeaten start to the season as two goals in the first four minutes of the second period did for Nantes at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

After a goalless first half in which Jordan Veretout hit the post for the visitors, Origi opened the scoring within a minute of the restart, heading home a cross from Florent Balmont.

Three minutes later, the Belgian international, who was bought by Liverpool in the summer before being loaned back to LOSC, provided the pass for Lopes to apply the finish.

It was a first goal for the Portuguese midfielder since he moved to Lille on loan from Manchester City in the summer transfer window.

Marseille were eager to get back to action after the international break was overshadowed by a row between coach Marcelo Bielsa and president Vincent Labrune regarding the latter’s summer transfer dealings.

The enigmatic Argentine claimed that none of the players he wanted to bring to the Stade Velodrome were signed, and none of those Labrune did recruit featured in the starting line-up in Annecy.

PSG were held to a goalless draw at Evian last month, but Marseille needed just 20 seconds to break the deadlock at the same venue, Andre-Pierre Gignac lashing home the fastest goal in Ligue 1 this season from Rod Fanni’s ball over the top.

It was a cruel introduction to Ligue 1 for Evian’s debutant goalkeeper Benjamin Leroy, who was beaten again a minute before the interval when Giannelli Imbula’s strike deflected in off Jonathan Mensah.

With president Labrune watching on, Dimitri Payet set up Florian Thauvin to make it 3-0 just after the hour, and while Clarck N’Sikulu got one back late on, OM eased to a third successive Ligue 1 win that should lift some of the tension at the Stade Velodrome.

Saint-Etienne beat Caen 1-0 on Saturday while champions Paris warmed-up for their Champions League trip to Ajax by drawing 1-1 at Rennes, despite Zoumana Camara giving them a first-half lead.

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